Spring 2012 (catching-up)

I need to do some big time catching up on the blog. I hope to get several out in the next couple of weeks. Here goes :)

Our little dude Eddie turned 2 in March! I made a tres leches cake and it was super yummy. We also had a little firework show on his cake... compliments of Okinawa.

While Will and Evelyn were in school I got to go to a Mommy and Me Gymnastics class with Eddie. Once he got use to the class (and realized he got candy after trying the tricks) he had a great time. Here he is on the balance beam.

Jumping off the cheese block. 

Butterfly Stretch :)

And the finale a hand stand!

Will graduated from preschool, turned 5, and is getting ready to be a big Kindergardener!  He's definitely got some Rick in him. When they called his name to get his diploma it was the "Ricky Shuffle" all over again : )

With the coming of Spring we had a mommy mockingbird make a nest in our little kumquat tree. It was just out our dining room window and with the tree being so small we had front row seats to all the action. 

Babies!!

Here is a video of Rick teasing the poor little things. 

Ready to leave the nest. There's not a whole lot of room left. 

Freedom! The babies fluttered around our yard with momma bird feeding them for a week or two. 

One of the birds decided to stick around. We can usually find it somewhere around the house. 

Well there is still a whole lot to post....I'll try to keep them coming :)

Who needs Disneyland when you've got a box

Last summer the kids got a swing set that we set up in the backyard. As much as they love it I think they  love the boxes that it came in just as much, if not more.

On rainy days or super hot days we would set them up in the living room and they could play house. Soon that got old.

Next we built them a super fort in the playroom. They talked us into letting them sleep in there but it was too exciting and cool and they couldn't go to sleep and got sent to their beds....

...then Rick took one of the boxes to a whole new level. Last weekend he took the kids outside so I could try to get the house clean (which will never fully happen) and this is the activity he came up with.
What could be more epic than a huge fort?......The Spinning Vortex of Doom!!!

Really, who needs Disneyland when they've got a huge box and a super dad?

It looked so fun I wanted to have a ride too but I could just see the bottom of the box rip open mid swing and me flying out into the road. I guess I will just have to live this one through the kids :)

2011 Catch-Up

We had a wonderful year here in Pensacola! Here's my attempt at catching up on some of the events I was suppose to blog and didn't  : )

Evelyn and Will played soccer this fall. Their team was The Gators!! Evelyn enjoyed running around not knowing what was going on and Will...he just looked forward to the snack after the game :) 

Halloween this year was awesome. It still amazes the kids that they really get to dress up and get loads of free candy from complete strangers. We went to our ward's Halloween Festival and hit a local neighborhood. (Alien Evelyn, Optimus Prime Will , and Ninja Eddie)

We went to a local pumpkin patch/peanut farm to pick out our pumpkins and enjoy a hayride. (btw I love boiled peanuts!)

Super Pumpkins!!

We thought it wasn't possible but we actually got a decent picture for our Christmas Card this year. Thanks to our friend Shanna!

We had a quiet Christmas at home. Here are the kiddos Christmas Morning in their new jammies :)

Happy as can be with their gifts. Thanks family for all of the wonderful stuff.

To celebrate New Years we went up to Alabama and spent it with my sister Heidi and her family. Being in Alabama (no need to explain) we could buy and set off super fireworks. The ones worthy of your annual city firework shows. I think us adults had way more fun then the kids.

Here is Rick holding the grande finale, Cats in the Cupboard!!! It was epic!!!

One of my New Years Resolutions is to blog more so I hope to keep them coming.
We hope your 2011 was as great as ours. We love and miss all of you :)

It's hot. Real hot.

When it's roasting hot and super humid there's only one thing to do........go to the beach!!!

We've spent a lot of time at the beach this summer. Here are a few of our pics.

The beach is fun with Eddie now that he is walking and has stopped eating sand :)

The kiddos with crazy Daddy.

I love the beach!!!

A beach trip wouldn't be a beach trip without digging a big ol hole.....

......then burying Daddy in it :)

Merry Christmas!!

Hello family and friends.

We've had a wonderful year full of blessings. In 2010 we've seen the addition of a new family member, Edward Richard Blair. We enjoy being back in the states, even though Pensacola is about as far away from family as Okinawa :)

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous new year.

Rick, Wendy, Evelyn, Will, and Eddie.

This free greeting card customized with Smilebox

All Hallows Eve

Halloween is so much fun with kids!!

Upon returning home from the "Trunk-or Treat" I stuck my head in the kids Halloween bags and took in a big whiff of their candy. The smell instantly brought me back to the glory days of Trick-or Treating at Grandma Hart's house. We would bring in our full pillow cases and poor them out all over the floor to examine our loot. After running from house to house for two hours we deserved the pig out session that followed. It's fun reliving the excitement of the holidays through your children.

Earlier in the month we went up to see Heidi and Donnie. In October the Birmingham Zoo hosts "Boo at the Zoo"!! You get to go to the Zoo at night. It was super fun with games, candy, a haunted carousel, and train ride.

Because of Halloween being on Sunday this year (too bad) we went to the "Trunk-or-Treat" at the church Saturday night. Rick made the kids stick their hands in the boxes and feel the "eyeballs and brains" before he would give them candy. No treat for you without a trick. Ha Ha Ha!!

The kids had just as much fun passing out candy on Halloween as they did "trick or treating" the night before. Here are two little videos we shot.

Goodbye Okinawa, Hello Pensacola!!

The day we left Okinawa was day of mixed emotions. We were so sad to be leaving but excited to get back to the states. On our way to Florida we got to spend time in California and Alabama visiting all of the family that we missed seeing over the past two years. It was great!!

It was really nice to finally get settled into our house after a month of traveling. This is the house. We love having a driveway, a garage, a backyard, and 4 bedrooms! Definitely a step up from the beloved bomb shelter in Okinawa. Oh yea, the van, it doesn't leak when it rains!!

Rick likes his job and is keeping busy. He is going to be traveling a lot more. He's already been to Portsmouth, VA, Meridian, MS, and Millington, TN. In the next couple of months he is heading to New Orleans, Corpus Christi, and Crane, Indiana.

Evelyn turned five and is now a Kindergartner. This is her on the big first day. She loves her teacher and thinks PE, music class, art class, and ballet are too much fun. Since we live so close to school we get to walk. Rain or shine :)

Will is proud to be three! This is him on his first day of preschool. He goes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but wishes it could be EVERYDAY! He wants to do everything Evelyn does, even homework.

Eddie is getting cuter by the day. He has started scooting and making his way around the house. I'm enjoying my "Eddie time" while the kiddos are in school. He is a happy easy going baby (I just wish he would start sleeping through the night :).

We love and miss you all. Pensacola is beautiful in the fall. Come and visit!!